: I do not own any of the So Weird characters. The only things I own are Kat, Marie, Bree, Ben & Greg. The ideas and concepts are my own, with the exception of the Dark and Light, which were heavily influenced by Susan Cooper's the Dark is Rising series.

Onto the story!

"You need to be with them." Gregory's voice repeated over and over in Katrina's mind as she took in the group around her. She sighed softly- she hadn't been this nervous with the group since she boarded the plane towards Utica to meet the group again years ago. She understood the underlying message in Greg's tone- he was letting her get back into the protection part of this case and as uncomfortable as she felt, she wouldn't give up her chance to redeem herself.

"Why don't we get some breakfast? I don't know about you guys but getting attacked by a vampire at 5AM really takes a lot out of me." Clu smiled at Katrina, pushing the covers off of his bed. Fiona opened her mouth to protest but the blonde shook his head. "Your laptop will be here after we eat Fi and we've got a guest… I doubt you've eaten yet have you Kat?" The red head shrugged and Clu smiled. "Then it's settled. I'll call the parentals!"


To say Molly had been surprised to see Katrina with her kids at breakfast would be an understatement. As much as she wanted to be happy that the red head had been accepted back into the little social circle she knew better. Katrina being around meant only one thing: something bad had happened. The singer had a long day ahead of her and she was not about to let her curiosity keep her from eating a good breakfast- she walked over to the group, grabbed the red head by the arm and with a smile walked away from them.

"Spill it." Katrina groaned as Molly glared at her, a hand pulling her out of the dining room.

"Molly…"

"Irene and Ned might be humoring you guys but I'm not going to. There's no way you'd be up and magically hanging around the kids." Molly stated, feeling guilty for her harsh words. "Kat… I'm sorry. But after everything that's happened… I know how you guys work. Nothing is done without a reason."

"Clu was attacked." Katrina mumbled her head hung. She didn't want the older woman to see how much her words had hurt her.

"When?" Molly felt her heart drop as Katrina began to describe the attack on Clu and how she and Carey had found him. "Is he ok?"

"He'll be fine… we got to him before Shane could do more than bite him. I'm sorry Molly… I wanted to believe that Greg was lying but it looks like this is it. The dark is making their move against you guys."

"Shit." Molly cursed and the red head's eyebrow rose. In all the time she had known the woman she'd rarely heard her curse. Composing herself, the brunette smiled weakly at the red head. "Well, I feel a little better knowing that you're here and Greg too. You need to keep me in the loop though. I'm going to have Irene look into Evelyn, see if she can find out what she's been up to lately." Katrina smiled, giving the brunette a quick hug. "I'm sorry about before… It's just hard seeing you here with them and knowing it can only mean bad news…"


"Hopefully we can change that." Katrina said softly. Molly smiled, nodding.

"I think we can. Now let's go eat some breakfast- I want to hear all about your life here. We didn't get to talk much about you and what you're doing at dinner… and I expect a tour of this town and that little café you seem to love." Molly grinned, enjoying the smile on the red head's face.

"He flooded your apartment?" Fiona giggled at Katrina's story, taking another sip of her coffee. The group had been in the dining room for what felt like hours- sharing stories and listening to Katrina's stories about her life here. Though it had been tense while waiting for a table, Molly and Katrina's reentrance into the dining room stopped the anger that the group felt towards the red head- at least that she could see.

"It's not easy being an elemental." Katrina shrugged. "And Ben had a pretty bad childhood- his parents didn't react well to his gift. His dad hurt him pretty bad the first couple of times that Ben's powers just started working- by the time Marie had found him his powers had become defensive. Even now when he gets too spooked his powers flare up and he can't control them. Hence our apartment being flooded anytime there's a bad thunderstorm… or someone attacks my café and my customers." Katrina shrugged. "But he's getting better… I think he can almost control wind when he wants to now." Clu snorted at this and Katrina rolled her eyes. "You came to one session- how many times did it take you to pass beginner art Clu?"

"A couple." The blonde muttered.

"So what about Greg and Marie? How'd you meet them? And why is Greg always so cranky?" Fiona asked and Molly sighed.

"I don't think this is what Katrina had in mind when she decided to spend the day with us guys. Twenty questions is great but this is turning into an inquisition- and the waiters keep glaring at us." Irene stated. Katrina smiled gratefully at the woman.

"Marie and Greg taught me all that I know." Katrina shrugged. "Marie's mom and my mom were good friends… when I went to live with my grandparents after my mom died we hung out a lot and I found out she was just like me. Greg just takes his job very seriously… he's a big teddy bear once you get to know him." Katrina explained, smiling. "What do you guys have planned for today?"

"Molly and I have rehearsal and then I have a show tonight." Annie stated. "But the rehearsal isn't until 4 and the concert's later tonight. What do you say to a shopping spree?"

"And a tour." Molly put in and Irene nodded. Katrina laughed, nodding as well.

"I think we're going to hang out today. And shopping definitely is not my idea of a good time." Jack stated, Clu nodding rapidly in agreement. The two men stood and after brief kisses to their significant others left the dining room.

"Men. Mention the word shopping and they're off before you can finish your sentence." Molly teased.

"What should we do first?" Irene asked and then shook her head as four pairs of eyes stared at her like she was a moron. She laughed and threw an arm around Molly's shoulders. "What was I thinking? Shopping of course!"

"I'll drive!" Fiona exclaimed, grabbing the keys from her mother and leading the way out of the hotel dining room, a huge grin on her face.

"Oh man." Katrina mumbled." She hasn't gotten any better has she?" She asked Annie and the red head giggled, shaking her head no.


"Where are we going Clu?" Jack complained, struggling to keep up with his more in shape and longer legged friend. The blonde ignored him, continuing to walk briskly through the town, on a mission. This was ridiculous. It was his first real day away from the drama that had rediscovered his girlfriend and sister and here he was chasing his friend throughout a town he didn't even know. Jack stopped walking and glared at his friend, as though mentally the blonde would get the hint and stop. But Clu continued his pace, finally stopping in front of Katrina's café. "Oh come on! What the hell is it with you people? Can't we just have one day-" Jack exclaimed as he walked towards his friend. He really didn't think screaming down the block was something he needed to do. Especially when they'd already made enough of a splash in this town.

"Jack." Clu glared at his friend, crossing his arms over his chest. "I promise no weird stuff. I just feel bad for Ben and wanted to take the kid with us."

"He's sixteen. I think he can be alone for a while."

"Obviously." Clu rolled his eyes. "But the kids cool. No offense, but you're pretty boring. Figure Ben could help get you to lighten up a bit."

"Please." It was Jack's turn to roll his eyes. "I don't understand why you're letting yourself get so attached to-"

"Can we just have one day where you don't bash my best friend and her lifestyle? Can we just have a normal day, pretend for once that everything is fine?" Clu snapped and Jack stared in shock as his friend. He'd known the blonde since they were babies and he'd never really seen the blonde get angry. Clu's face softened and he ran a hand through his hair. "I'm sorry bro- I didn't mean to snap at you. It's just… Carey's still pissed at me about Kat. Now there's something after Fi and Annie and my best friend is a complete mess. I just want to have one day of fun and relax… I thought Ben could hang out with us and play some soccer. If you don't want to it's fine. We'll just go catch a movie or something."

Jack shrugged. What was it with his friends and family and their damn guilt trips? "It's ok. We all have our moments. Soccer seems like a good plan- it'll give me a chance to show you how a real man plays."

Jack slapped his friend on the back and opened the door to the café, grinning at Clu's expression of shock.


"So I was thinking of adding in one of Molly's songs… I've been working with my vocal coach on Rebecca and I think it'll sound amazing. What do you think? Should I do Rebecca or stick to The Crossing for the last song?"Callie asked her fiancé as she stabbed a piece of lettuce. While Carey was amazing behind a guitar the blonde had an amazing ear when it came to music and took after his mother in knowing exactly what songs were good for a set. Since the two had gotten back together Callie had run her set list by the blonde every concert and he'd never been wrong. Not receiving a response she looked up at her fiancé, puzzled. Had she been completely wrong in her assumption that she could cover Rebecca? "Carey?" She called, frowning as she followed her fiancé's gaze through the mall. He was staring intently into a store and from the looks of it he hadn't heard a word she said. "I think I'm going to go platinum blonde. It worked for Annie… maybe I need a new look- get the attention of a new audience." She stated, hoping it would catch the blonde's attention. "Or maybe red." She couldn't resist the dig, especially when it was obvious the blonde wasn't listening to her.

"Baked salmon?" The waiter smiled at the couple as he stopped in front of her table. Carey's attention returned to the table, nodding. "And the tilapia?" Callie smiled back at the waiter, nodding. He placed their entrees down and after promising to be back with refills on their drinks was off.

"Carey?" Callie tried again, her brown eyes locking with his blue ones. "Did you hear me?"

"I'm sorry." Carey apologized, sheepishly cutting into his salmon. "My heads running through a million thoughts. What did you ask me?"

"I asked if you thought I should cover Rebecca as my last song tonight or stick with The Crossing?" Callie smiled weakly at her fiancé.

"Oh." Carey frowned, his eyebrows furrowing in concentration. "Hm… that's a tough one… You've got the voice to cover the song, it'd probably sound awesome. But The Crossing… it was your first big hit." Carey rationalized, his eyes drifting from their table back to the mall. Callie's eyes narrowed but she held her tongue.

"I'm so tired of it though." Callie replied, shrugging. "The Crossing has been good to me but I hate singing it now."

"If you could come out for an encore I'd say do it." Carey replied, his eyes locking on a group of women passing them. "But you can't and your fans pay so much to see you and hear their favorite songs." Callie cringed at the casualness in Carey's voice. He knew how much it hurt her not to be able to sing for more than an hour and here he was saying it as though it was her fault. Callie glared at the group of women, her eyes narrowing as Katrina laughed, placing an arm around Fiona as they walked down the mall. She'd be lying if she said she wasn't jealous. Since the red head had returned to their lives she knew that she was losing her place in the family- the place she still hadn't completely earned. "Callie?" Now it was Callie's turn to stare sheepishly at her fiancé.

"Sorry. Zoned out."

"It's ok." Carey smiled at his fiancé and Callie felt her heart jump. Maybe they could get over this. "I was just saying that it's up to you. I'd see how the crowd reacts tonight. If they're feeling your music you'll get away with Rebecca. But if it's people who've only heard your radio hits…"

"I guess we'll have to play it by ear then." Callie grinned back, placing her hand on Carey's. Her engagement ring glittered against the restaurant light and she felt her heart soar. Katrina and Carey's family had passed them and now his attention was back on her- and hopefully it'd stay that way.


After a short pit stop at the café Ben and the two men headed towards Marie and Katrina's apartment for the teen to change.

"Thanks for doing this guys. I never get to hang out with people other then the girls. And Greg, once in a blue moon, but he never really wants to go outside and run around."

"No problem." Jack smiled at the teen, shrugging. The more time Jack spent with the elemental, the more he reminded him of his sister.

"I'll be five minutes- I can't remember where I put my sneakers!" Ben exclaimed from his room and Jack rolled his eyes. Clu had disappeared into the bathroom so Jack took the time to look around the apartment. It reminded him of Carey and Katrina's old apartment- full of candles and nicnacks. Jack headed down the hallway, peaking into the first room. It was full of bright colors and while not super messy, it was obvious whoever claimed this room spent little time in it. He continued his journey down the hallway, walking into the next room. Even before he looked at the belongings in the room he knew it was Katrina's –the colors and neatness gave her away. He sat down on the bed, taking the room in. On the wall across from him was a large bookshelf, mostly filled with books but also a few photo frames. He stood and walked to the bookshelf, peering at the contents. He picked up one of the photo frames, smiling to himself as he saw the picture. It was from Katrina and Clu's college graduation, and the whole group had conned a by passer to take a picture of them. Only Clu had said something stupid which caused his mother to turn towards him to yell at him, Fiona had jabbed him in the gut, and one of Annie's fans had called out to her. They had gotten the by passer to take another photograph- a nice, family photo with everyone smiling and Jack thought Carey deleted this one from his camera. Jack put the photograph down with a smile, shaking his head. He picked up the next frame, frowning as Carey and Katrina stared back at him, huge smiles on their faces as Carey held out Katrina's left hand for the camera.

"She hides it pretty well." Jack jumped when Ben spoke. Turning around guiltily he saw the brunette next to him, shrugging. "Sorry, didn't mean to scare you. I guess after living with Kat and Marie so long I've gotten good at sneaking up on people." Jack nodded. "She still has that ring you know- wears it as a necklace. I don't think I've ever seen her take it off. Weird huh?" Ben shrugged.

"You two ready?" Clu peaked his head into Katrina's room, grinning. He watched Jack place the frame back on the shelf and smiled at his friend. "Let's go boys- time to see how the pros play."


Katrina laughed at the outfit Fiona had pulled from the rack. "I think it'd be great Fi."

"Oh don't encourage her!" Irene scolded as she grabbed the hanger from the brunette. "She'd actually buy it!"

"I love Clu but honestly Irene, have you seen some of the things he wears?" Molly teased. "I think that'd go with his wardrobe- at least you two would match!" Irene rolled her eyes at her friend, shrugging.

"I'm starving!" Annie exclaimed as she returned to the group from checking out. "I don't think I've ever said this but I'm shopped out!" The women laughed and Molly put an arm around the younger woman.

"I think someone's getting a little bit rusty." Molly teased but led the way out of the store. The mall had been a good choice for the women- it was still relatively early and the mall was quiet. Molly and Annie had worn hats but if there were any fans in the mall they allowed the women to enjoy their day off and shop in peace.

"Why don't you take us to your café so I can finally see what these crazy people have been talking about? I could use a bit of a pick me up." Irene smiled at the red head, her blue eyes twinkling. She'd had a lot of fun with Katrina- it'd reminded her why she loved the younger woman and how much fun they'd all had. The two had talked about Irene's new management business and Katrina had told her about the open mic night at her café. The blonde had tried to talk the red head into working for her again but while Katrina had refused, she had agreed to consider starting to represent some of the open mic acts and help them get their big breaks.

"Sounds like a plan." Katrina grinned as they walked down the mall. She looked towards a small Italian chain restaurant and tried to remain calm as she locked eyes with Carey. The blonde turned away after a moment and Katrina felt a pang of sadness as Callie took his hand. Annie nudged her friend in the stomach, grabbing her hand and pulling her towards the others.

"Stop thinking." Annie whispered, grinning. "Today is a girl day, and on girl days we do not brood! The biggest thought we should have is whether or not I should go back to blonde!"


"I'll get it!" Ben shouted as he ran off past the soccer field towards the woods. Clu had misjudged a shot the ball had flown into the woods by the field.

"This is a nice place." Jack grinned, sitting down. Clu nodded, sitting next to his friend. "Is this where you went with Kat the other day?"

"Yep. It's nice- secluded." Clu shrugged. "He's a good kid."

"Yeah. I can see why Kat likes him so much- it's kind of hard not to." Jack grinned.

"You know Jack… it might be nice if you maybe gave your stamp of approval towards Kat." Clu found the grass very interesting as he made his suggestion, running his hand through it while waiting for his friend's response.

"She never lost it Clu, and I don't think it's my place to get involved. I don't care if she comes around, so long as she doesn't hurt Carey again. And I can't see the point in getting close to her when we know she's just going to disappear from our lives again." Jack shrugged, stretching his legs out.

"I just-" Clu stopped his sentence when he heard a twig snap in the woods. "What's taking Ben so long?" He wondered, standing up.

"Maybe he found a butterfly." Jack laughed, standing as well.

"Not funny. I don't like this Jack."

"Spidey senses going crazy?"

"Not funny." Clu scanned the area, searching for the teen's blue t-shirt. "It doesn't take this long to find a soccer ball."

"Holy shit." Jack muttered and Clu turned around to face his friend. "Clu…" Jack pointed towards the entrance of the soccer field and Clu followed his friend's gaze, his eyes widening.

"Lose something?" Jack's eyes narrowed at the blonde who currently held Ben by his shirt sleeve and the ball under his foot. "Or someone?"

"What do you want Shane?" Jack snapped, his brown eyes narrowing. "Didn't you get the hint the last two times we killed you? Do you really want to shoot for a third?"

"Big talk Jack." Shane grinned at him, pushing Ben away from him. Clu caught the teen, checking him over quickly to make sure he was fine. Shane approached the three and soon was in Jack's face.

"Give it up Shane. You know that your not going to win whatever game your playing- why don't you go back to your black hole and daddy and sulk some more?" Clu smirked at the blonde. He gave a small shout as Shane appeared next to him, his hand around Clu's neck.

"Shane…" Jack warned and Ben stared at the two with wide eyes. "Ben get out of here." He told the teen.

"Yes Ben, run and get help. Maybe I can finish what I started before your friends get here." Shane grinned, squeezing tighter on Clu's neck. "You know Clu, I don't like when my meals run away from me…"

"Leave us alone Shane." Jack moved towards his friend, brown eyes full of anger. Shane growled at him and before Jack knew what had happened he was flying in the air. He groaned as his back connected with a tree and he sank down, shaking his head.

"Jack!" Clu shouted and tried to get free of Shane's hold on him.

"Don't worry Clu. Once I finish with you I'm going to have Jack as my desert. We've got some unfinished business to take care of." Shane grinned. He began squeezing tighter on Clu's throat, the blonde gasping as his oxygen was cut off. Jack watched in horror as his friend's knees buckled but no matter how hard Jack tried to get up his body wouldn't cooperate.

"I don't think so." Shane rolled his eyes as he saw Gregory approach the group, Ben close behind him.

"You guys are seriously cramping my style." Shane exclaimed, throwing his hands in the air. Clu gasped and put his own hand around his throat, massaging it. He staggered towards Jack, kneeling in front of his friend. The two watched as Gregory and Shane stared each other down, waiting for the other to make the first move.

"Maybe you should find another town to terrorize." Ben quipped behind Gregory. Shane's glowing eyes landed on the teen and he whimpered. Gregory shook his head and Shane grinned at the teen. Gregory's hand began to glow and Clu and Jack watched in awe as a small orb formed in his hand.

"Don't you have anything better to do then terrorize people Shane? Honestly, I would have thought that the dark wouldn't waste one of their best men on petty games." Gregory asked and Shane's eyes narrowed. "What, don't want to pick on someone you know could kick your ass?"

"This isn't over. Not by a long shot. Your little guardians won't always be around." Shane glared at Clu and Jack before running back into the woods. Ben sighed in relief and Gregory shook his head the orb in his hand disappearing.

"You guys ok?" Ben asked as he and Gregory approached Clu and Jack. Clu had helped his friend stand and the two nodded, shrugging.

"You just had to piss off the vampire didn't you? And not just any vampire- oh no. You had to piss off the crazy super human strength vampire." Jack exclaimed at his friend, shaking his head.

"Um hello? Who's the one that pissed off said vampires family first? And need I remind you that I pissed off said vampire defending your sister's honor?" Clu smirked at his friend. Jack threw his hands in the air, exasperated.

"We should get back to the girls- they're going to want to know what happened." Gregory stated.

"Oh no. No way. We are not telling them!" Jack exclaimed.

"What, don't want to hear an 'I told you so'?" Ben asked, smirking. Jack glared at the teen. "Dude, your so not scary."

"Whatever dude. We are not telling the girls until after tonight's concert- Annie's a nervous wreck as it is." Jack stated and Clu shook his head. "I'm serious. We can tell them as soon as the concert is over."

"It's your call." Gregory sighed. "I don't agree with not telling your friends but I'll leave that up to you. But I have to tell Kat. She needs to know to keep her guard up."

"That's fine." Clu cut Jack's response off. "Let's just get out of here and get home before they think something did happen."